In 500 Words or Less
by Zaquix
Summary: Chapter 17: Laziness. Of course Shikamaru is guilty. Shikamaru x Temari. ShikaTema. Collection of drabbles from Naruto. Various pairings. Fluff bonanaza.
1. Chapter 1: Sticky Notes

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Please apply disclaimer to all chapters hereafter so I do not need to type it over and over and over and over and over and over…you get the idea.

_Author's notes: I wanted to try out some drabbles, and I've always liked things that are short like this. Sounds like poetry to my ears. So I'm just going to do a bunch of these depending on how many reviews I get for ideas, and I might throw in a couple of random ones that I though of. I'll try and update this story every day because of how short the chapters are. Just thought I'd start off with a Sasuke x Sakura one because I still haven't gotten out my lemon for that pairing. It's undergoing construction, plus being hindered by the other stories I'm trying to juggle._

**p.s. Type in your desired pairing in your review and one word. And I do mean one word. And I'll try to make a short, cute drabble of it. It can be any type of pairing whatsoever. Het, yaoi, yuri, crack. I'm not picky.**

_R&R._

**Sticky Notes**

He remembered.

The first time he ever walked into her apartment, it was the most ridiculous experience ever.

She had sticky notes everywhere, literally.

Every little thing was meticulously labeled and reminders were pinned to every available surface. Things like 'Remember to give back Tsunade's medical textbook' or 'Naruto owes me money for the ramen I bought him last week'.

Notes of every color of the rainbow. Red. Green. Purple.

Then he found the blue one next stuck to the underside of her pillow as if she slept with it so it would ensure good dreams, not nightmares.

It read:

Sakura, will you go out with me on Friday night?

-Sasuke

Too afraid of being turned down, he had stuck it on the top of one of her books one day instead of asking her out directly.

At that moment, he smiled.

And never stopped remembering.

R&R.


	2. Chapter 2: Frozen Yogurt

_R&R._

**Frozen Yogurt**

Gaara handed her the frozen yogurt, and she happily dug the spoon into the small cup filled to the brim with creamy goodness.

He gave her an amused look. She had the appearance of a little five-year-old who had just gotten a new toy and couldn't be happier.

She ate her yogurt very carefully, taking a huge spoonful and then turning the spoon around and licking it off slowly with her tongue.

It was like an art to her and it fascinated him.

"What are you looking at?" she asked suspiciously.

Gaara chuckled at the pink-haired girl's pout. "Nothing."

"Tell me." She insisted.

"Well, if you must know…" he started with an exaggerated sigh. "…I'm staring at the yogurt you have on your nose."

She crossed her eyes. "There isn't any."

He dipped his finger into her yogurt and quickly wiped a smidgen on her nose.

"Now there is." he said playfully.

She pouted at him again.

He stuck out his tongue at her, and before she could say anything, he licked the yogurt off her nose. "Mmmm, strawberry my favorite flavor ever."

Her face became quite red. "S-since when?" she managed to stutter, still blushing fiercely.

"Since it started reminding me of you."

_R&R._


	3. Chapter 3: Ramen

_R&R._

Ramen

He loved ramen.

Everything about it.

From the long, slippery noodles to the distinct flavoring that came with each tasting. There was always something new to try, new to experience.

He could eat it anytime and anywhere.

Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.

On missions. In bed. On a park bench.

Every time he was asked to choose where to grab a bite to eat, it would always be Ichiraku. If he made a bet, it would always be a free meal at Ichiraku. No questions asked. It was Ichiraku. It was heaven on Earth. Hell, it was better than that even.

"Naruto, are you done yet?"

His head snapped up at the soft voice that was inquiring. His girlfriend of two years looked at him with her pale violet eyes. Her slender fingers were perched on the edge of the tabletop, pressing down lightly. Her chest softly rose and fell with each breath and her long legs were tucked beneath her, just barely scraping the ground. Dark, silky tresses cascaded down her back, some of it hiding her face from him and he longed to tuck the strands behind her ear.

So he did.

A soft smile graced her lips and he felt the smile tugging at his lips, threatening to explode with the barely contained happiness and contentment of just being with her.

True, Naruto did love ramen.

But he loved her even more.

_R&R._


	4. Chapter 4: Troublesome

_R&R._

**Troublesome**

It was so damn troublesome.

She would annoy him at times, trying to get him to spar with her instead of just staring at the clouds all day.

She would take forever just to put her hair up in those four pigtails he loved, not that he'd ever admit it to her.

She would spend too much time in the shower, and he didn't care what she thought—it didn't take an hour to get clean.

She would attempt to drag him to places every Friday night, claiming he was too 'antisocial' for her liking.

She would go around and tidy up his room, even though he told her to leave it on the ground because there was nobody except them two.

She would always get annoyed when he was beating her at Shogi, insisting that they find something else to do.

She would never leave him alone with his thoughts when he just wanted to think to himself in sweet silence.

It was so ironic that the best thing that had ever happened to him was so damn troublesome.

_R&R._


	5. Chapter 5: Pennies

_R&R._

**Pennies**

"Hey, Naruto, look, a wishing fountain." Sakura dragged her boyfriend over to the elaborate structure in the middle of the square.

They had finished up a mission in the Land of Snow, and she had insisted that they be allowed to explore before they left, heading back to the Leaf village.

Kakashi had readily agreed, then gone off in search for the newest Icha Icha book in one of the local bookstores. Sai had gone to check out some of the local artwork.

And Sakura had forced Naruto to accompany her to the heart of the village.

She dipped her hand into the cool water of the fountain and the water rippled, contorting her reflection. The water made a sweet, melodic sound as it gushed out of the fountain.

Pennies littered the bottom of the fountain.

The plaque next to the fountain read, "The Fountain of a Million Wishes."

She reached her hand down deeper into the water and a confused look crossed her face in an instant. "These aren't regular pennies."

Each penny had a special insignia on it, three stars intertwined.

"That's the sign of the Saint that blessed this fountain over a thousand years ago." Sakura turned around to face a local woman. "The legend goes that pennies with his mark on them are the only wishes that come true." She added.

"Where can I get one?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I'm one of the people that sells them." The woman smiled at her.

Sakura pouted at Naruto. "Get me one? Pwease?"

The blond grumbled a little, but instantly crumbled as he looked at her pleading face. "How much?" he asked the woman.

"One hundred yen."

"What?! I can get one hundred pennies with that much!"

The woman glared at him. "These are very sacred pennies, my boy, and I suggest you don't doubt a saint!"

Naruto reluctantly handed over the money and gave the penny to Sakura.

She closed her eyes and made a wish.

The penny went sailing in an arc into the fountain.

When she opened her eyes, she realized something and frowned at her boyfriend. "You forgot to get one for yourself. How are you going to make a wish now?"

Naruto smiled at her. "Don't need a wish. I already have everything I want right here."

_R&R._


	6. Chapter 6: Falling

_R&R._

**Falling**

Hinata was walking along the narrow footpath in the park, her favorite place to be at this time of day. It was nearing dusk, and the sky had started turning different shades of pink and purple. She sat down at the foot of a tree, leaning against the tree trunk.

Slowly, but surely, her eyes began to drift closed, and she felt herself slipping deeper down and down and down…

"Hinata!" she opened her eyes, blinking against the sudden darkness that had fallen over the sky and swallowed up her surroundings.

Kiba peered down at her, concerned. "How long have you been out here?"

She looked around, biting her lower lip. "I'm not sure,"

"Well, you must be cold here and you look half asleep still," Kiba scolded. "Come on, let's get you back to the village."

Hinata stood up hesitantly, a bit wobbly on her feet.

She started to follow Kiba back to the village.

Rubbing her eyes, she didn't see the tree root and tripped.

Falling forward, Hinata grabbed the closest thing and clutched Kiba's arm for support.

Her friend frowned at her. "You must be more tired than I thought. Come on, I'll carry you."

Hinata began to protest, but he didn't listen, and swept her up bridal style. "Hush, you're not heavy. Don't complain. I want to carry you." He said firmly.

She stopped protesting when it became clear that he wasn't going to put her down. Hinata reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her head to the center of his chest. The beating of his heart lulled her back to her dreams.

And once again she was falling deeper and deeper and deeper…

…into love.

_R&R._


	7. Chapter 7: Pervert

_R&R._

**Pervert**

"…so I was thinking we should probably go around…"

"Kakashi?"

"Kakashi?!"

"KAKASHI!!"

Kakashi's head snapped up from his book to look at his former student, who current looked absolutely, positively _livid_ with him.

"Hey, Sakura, you should probably calm down before your face color gets darker than your hair," he said good-naturally.

She was _not_ amused.

She was _trying_ to brief him on the mission that they were going on tomorrow, but he was too absorbed in Icha Icha Paradise to pay any attention. The facts and figures that were clearly passing right by him were vital, and his ignorance might get them killed.

Her patience was fast running out.

"Are you even paying ATTENTION?!" she screeched.

Kakashi pretended to ignore her.

Bad move.

In an instant, the orange book was snatched out of his hands without warning. He stared in horror as she dangled the book in front of his face, and then laughed when he wildly grabbed for it and missed as she skipped a step backward.

She looked at him innocently. "If you don't pay attention, I'm going to destroy your perverted trash."

He stared helplessly at her and protested. "It's not trash."

She flipped to a random page in the book and skimmed her eyes over it. "Pervert."

The accusation smacked him in the face. "Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"You are. Don't deny it." She grinned as he gasped when she made a move to rip the book in half. "You are such a pervert."

All the way back to her apartment, she kept holding the orange book just out of his reach, teasing him. He followed her in, desperate to get his book back, and she made no move to stop him. Into her bedroom, he followed and snatched at it when she sat down on the edge of her bed, bouncing slightly. "Give it back!"

She shrieked with surprise as he lunged for his precious book, in the process, falling on top of her. He landed awkwardly, with his body half on top of hers, her elbow digging into his ribs and his legs tangled in hers.

He could hear her giggling beneath him, and he widened his eyes in surprise.

Kakashi snatched the book off her bedside stand and waved it in her face.

She blinked in surprise.

He held his stolen copy of Icha Icha that he had seemingly lost last week in his hands.

"Who's the pervert now?"

_R&R._


	8. Chapter 8: Chocolate

_R&R._

**Chocolate**

Tenten hummed as she walked along the road to the Hyuga complex. The music drifted up into the air, filling in the empty spaces that her mind didn't reach into. Birds chirped back a harmony as if they sensed her good mood, and agreed with her.

The doorbell rang cheerily as she gave it a quick stab.

She rolled her eyes as she waited. He never managed to answer the door until fifty years later. Their home was just too damn big. It usually took him forever just to get to the right side of the house.

Tenten grinned when he finally opened the door, and she caught her first glimpse of her teammate. "Hey, you up for some training?"

Five hours later, she lay on the ground of their courtyard, panting hard. He hadn't been easy on her, and she was proud that she somehow kept up with him.

"Tenten, how you doing?" she turned her head to face her teammate. His pale eyes stared back at her, quizzically.

A smile crossed her face. "Good."

He nodded once, and made a move to get back up again. She saw him wince as his sore muscles protested the movement. When he got back on his feet, he extended his hand to her, like the gentleman he was.

She flashed him a grateful smile, and placed her hand in his.

A gasp escaped her lips. His strong pull brought her back on her feet, and she stumbled forward, almost crashing into his chest. She stared directly into his eyes, holding her breath for a second.

"Let's go in and get something to eat." He said softly.

Tenten grabbed the handle on the fridge and tugged at it. "So Neji Hyuga, let's see what you have to eat." She said jokingly.

And there was…

…chocolate?

There were boxes upon boxes of chocolate in the fridge.

"How much chocolate do you _eat_?" she asked, stupefied.

Neji looked over at her from the other side of the island. "What are you talking about?"

When he saw what she was referring to, a light blush crossed his face. "Oh, that. The chocolate there was all the stuff I got for Valentine's day last week. I didn't particularly like the girls I got it from…but I wanted to be polite. Besides, I love chocolate."

Tenten laughed. "It figures. You were always the polite one."

She took a piece from a random box and made a move to put it in her mouth.

"Hey, you can't eat chocolate from that box!" he protested.

"Why not?" she teasingly bit the piece in half.

In a second, he was in front of her, pinning her arms to the front of the fridge, his face tantalizingly close to hers. "You don't recognize it? That was the chocolate _you_ gave me."

He kissed her lightly on the lips. "I was saving it…to remind me of you."

_R&R._


	9. Chapter 9: Ramen II

_R&R._

**Ramen**

Shikamaru moved the Shogi piece, and smirked. "I win."

A growl rose up from across the table. By this time, the blonde was ready to kill something or someone, it didn't really matter what.

Naruto slammed his fist down on the table. "How?!"

It was his sixth time losing, and they had only played for an hour.

"Because your last move was really stupid." Shikamaru pointed down at the piece.

The blond tore out his hair in frustration.

The lazy genius looked at the blond. He had promised to try and help the blond sharpen up. So far, it seemed as though there was no point. Some people were just plain hopeless. He sighed. An hour of Shogi, and there was no mind stimulation whatsoever.

"Well, I have some cloud watching to do," Shikamaru said. "See you tomorrow?"

And there the habit began.

Each week, they would meet up to play Shogi.

And each time, Naruto would lose.

Then, Shikamaru would offer him consolation with chocolate ice cream.

They would spend another hour talking, and then Naruto would go home.

Shikamaru snapped out of his thoughts as Naruto crowed triumphantly. "I win!"

What?

The genius goggled at the board. Did Naruto just really say that?

"What?" he croaked. "That's not possible."

But it was.

Suddenly, the hyperactive ninja's face was right in front of his. "Guess what, Shikamaru?! Since you helped me, I'm gonna treat you to some ramen!"

"Ramen?"

And five minutes later, they were seated at Ichiraku, two huge bowls of ramen set in front of them. "Try it, Shikamaru!"

He cautiously took a bite…and then, shoveled more and more into his mouth. It was _good_. There was a unique taste to it, and he couldn't quite place it. Whatever it was, it was delicious, and suddenly, Shikamaru couldn't get enough of it.

Then he looked over at the blond, also stuffing his face.

And he realized.

It tasted like Naruto.

_R&R._


	10. Chapter 10: Barbeque

_R&R._

**Barbeque**

"Oh my god," Ino screamed. "Civilization!"

The blonde seemed to collapse on the ground with happiness as her team looked at her strangely. "Hey, Ino, you okay?"

She didn't hear him.

They had been on a mission for the last week, and she had spent the whole time stuck with her clearly mental team. She hadn't had a decent meal or shower in forever, and she could have cried with happiness when she saw the buildings.

"Civilization!" she said again exuberantly.

Shikamaru stuck his hands deep into his pants pockets, and rolled his eyes at her. Asuma-sensei didn't have any comment. And Choji just looked at her.

She drooled as a delicious smell wafted into her senses. "We're eating there!"

And she dragged the rest of her team into the restaurant.

The host smiled at them condescendingly, at their disheveled appearance. "May I help you?"

Shikamaru matched her frosty glare. "Table for four, please."

"How did you do that Shikamaru?" Choji stared at him with wide eyes. "She didn't look like she'd serve us in a million years."

His best friend only shrugged. "Power of persuasion."

While the two of them were busy making conversation, Ino was scanning the menu, drooling at the food selection.

Broiled scrod with a sprinkle of fresh herbs and spices topped off with a dash of lemon juice and a side of rice pilaf. Crab pie sprinkled with bread crumbs, marinated in butter, and served with juicy scallops in a special house sauce. Steak dipped in a unique spinach and cream sauce, cooked to perfection with a baked potato and homemade cole slaw.

"Is there barbeque?" Choji asked the waitress.

Ino gaped at her teammate. "We're in a restaurant with some of the best food we have seen in the past week, and you want……_barbeque_?"

Choji looked at her like she was crazy. "Why not?"

The blonde girl spluttered. "B-b-because,"

But she couldn't find anything wrong.

Barbeque was just completely and utterly Choji.

And suddenly, she found that she loved that about him.

_R&R._


	11. Chapter 11: Sandman

_R&R._

**Sandman**

"Stop it!" she giggled as he tickled her. "I mean it!"

The boy didn't stop what he was doing, and the girl continued to laugh. "Not until you admit that you like me," he demanded. "…and you better do it fast because pretty soon you're gonna die laughing."

She looked up at his serious face. "Nuh-uh."

Then she shrieked with laughter when he attacked her sides again. The girl rolled over and almost fell off the edge of the bed.

"Stop it!" she protested again, but the boy ignored her pleas. "Fine, fine. I'll say it!"

The boy stopped what he was doing, and looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

She beckoned him closer as if to whisper it in his ear, even though no one was around to hear them anyway. He scooted closer to her on the bed, and he felt her warm breath on his ear.

"You're an idiot," she whispered. "But I love you anyway."

In response, the boy only leaned towards her, and kissed her lips lightly. "I love you too."

Gaara adverted his eyes from the full-blown make-out scene on the television screen. He didn't think that there were any humans that would be so silly. If he was an idiot, then why did she love him? It made no sense to him, at any rate.

He sighed.

There was nothing on television except for romantic comedies, and he was sick of it. At least, maybe he could find something more sensible to do.

Five minutes later, he was knocking at his brother's door.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, he heard Kankuro's voice. "I'm busy! Go away!"

Gaara contemplated the consequences of going in there anyway. It honestly wasn't worth the hassle of having to force his brother to come out.

After a moment's hesitation, he started down the hall to Temari's room. Maybe she'd be willing to train with him for a bit.

Curiously, when he got close to her door, he heard voices coming from inside. In a moment of panic, he quickly burst into her room, expecting the worst, such as a spy holding her captive.

What the…

The scene that greeted him was quite different from what he had expected. His sister was curled up on the bed, her body entangled with Shikamaru's, and she was giggling hysterically.

He wondered whether he was seeing things.

And then, Temari spoke. "You're such an idiot, Shikamaru, but I love that about you."

Complete déjà vu.

Gaara was almost rendered speechless, but he managed to sputter. "You two are insane!"

Both Temari and Shikamaru whipped around to look at him.

He ran from the room.

Shikamaru turned back to Temari. "I don't think Sandman likes me very much."

"He'll get used to you, eventually. Now shut up and kiss me."

So he did.

_R&R._


	12. Author's note: Contest

**CONTEST:**

**Like fluff? **

**Objective: The idea is to write a fluff piece of a couple in Naruto that is In 500 Words or Less**. **This, as you can tell, is the title of one of my stories. see below **

**Prize: The winner will have their chappie added to this story and will be credited, and I will write a request piece for them. The request piece will be max 15,000 words, and may have as many chappies as you want and whatever structure you like. Essentially, this means I will be your slave for the duration of the story. XD. If this goes off without a hitch, though nothing I do ever does, then all entries will be displayed in another story. **

**Rules:**

**1) Written piece must be 500 words or less  
2) Title must be one word or one concept, which the fluff will center around  
3) Nothing graphic, this is _fluff  
_4) Nothing pre-written is allowed, i.e. something already posted on this site, even if you wrote it  
5) Any type of pairing is allowed, i.e. yaoi, yuri, het  
6) Entries must be sent to as either an attachment or written directly in the email.  
7) You must PM me first, so I realize that you're entering, and so I will check my email  
8) Max 3 entries per person  
9) No plagiarism, of course**

**There is no deadline, at the moment, because I need to see if anyone is interested in entering first. If you are, please PM me ASAP, so I can decide certain things. If you need a template or idea of how to begin, you can go take a peek at my story, In 500 Words or Less. **

******EDIT: Deadline will be July 16th.**

**Hopefully, you'll give this a shot, and remember they can't be longer than 500 words.**

******When the all the entries are entered, they will be displayed in a separate "story" and readers will give what they liked about the story. After reading all the comments I will pick the top three, based on a variety of things, such as creativity, overall flow, structure (yes, that means grammar), and of course FLUFFINESS. =) The top three will be looked at again and a special panel of unbiased judges will help me decide the winner. **

**Don't be afraid to take chances and try something different! We applaud you for it! :D**

**Any questions about this Contest? PM me!!**


	13. Chapter 12: Flying

_R&R._

_He was soaring over the treetops, light as a feather. Everything in Konoha could be seen from above and he delighted in skimming down below to wave at the surprised people. He slowed down a bit and touched down to perch on the Third Hokage. There was a certain freedom in flying, something that just made him happy beyond belief._

_He flew back up in the air and soared up and up and up…_

…_but suddenly, he felt his wings fail him…_

…_and he was falling…_

…_down, down, down_

Iruka woke up with a start, trembling and sweating from his dream. The dizzy sick feeling still fluttered in his stomach, and he felt as if he was still falling. He looked around wildly, not knowing where he was, the confusion making him even sicker.

The door of the room opened, and he looked toward it frantically, wanting to know what was happening to him.

First came the orange book, and then the silver-headed man followed close behind. "Hey Iruka, I just came to see how you were doing. I heard you got injured during your mission."

The brown-haired man visibly relaxed when he saw his friend walk through the door. _I was on a mission. _"Hey Kakashi."

The copy-nin frowned. "You look terrible. Are you okay?"

Iruka debated whether or not to tell his friend. "No, I had another nightmare."

Kakashi widened his eyes. "What of?"

"Well, it's not really a nightmare," Kakashi came to sit down on the edge of the bed. "It's more of a wonderful dream that turns into a nightmare."

He looked at his friend, who was paying close attention for once, his book left forgotten. "I'm flying in the beginning, and it feels so good."

Iruka continued on in a yearning tone. "I feel like I'm free for once, not tied down by anything."

His face darkened. "But then I start falling,"

Iruka's voice became desperate. "And I just keep plummeting down and down and down…"

Kakashi wrapped his friend up in a hug, and Iruka widened his eyes.

"K-kakashi?" he stammered.

"Shhh…" Kakashi put a finger to his friend's lips. "You don't have to worry. There are other ways of flying, of being free."

With those words, the copy-nin pulled down his mask and pressed his lips firmly up against Iruka's.

Iruka melted into the kiss.

He tasted like every sweet thing in the world.

He tasted like sunshine and happiness.

He tasted like heaven.

He tasted like flying…

…and this time, Iruka was never going to fall.

_R&R._


	14. Chapter 14: Healing

___**Like fluff? Visit my profile for complete contest rules and how to participate. Winner gets to own me as a slave... *winks* ...or gets a story written by me. It'll make me happy if you enter... :D.**_

_R&R._

**Healing**

Shizune ran as quickly as she could to the hospital. "Damnit. The one day I'm not at Lady Tsunade's side, and something important happens."

As she burst into Rm 2039, she almost barreled into Lady Tsunade. "M-my lady, what did you call me down here for?" she panted, out of breath a little bit from running.

Tsunade's expression was hard to read. "Black Ops found Naruto today. Somehow he managed to pick up on Kabuto's trail, and he abandoned his mission in favor of tailing the man. From what they gathered, it looks like they had a huge fight. I need to go heal Naruto. Your job is to heal Kabuto."

She nodded to the bed inside. "He's over there."

With a turn, she left, leaving Shizune no room to protest. "B-but Lady Tsunade!"

Shizune fumed as she prepared to heal the silver-haired man.

"I don't know why she would _ever_ consider having me heal this man," she muttered. "He's brought enough trouble on the village, and probably doesn't deserve to live anyway. He's a nuisance every which way you look at it."

She continued on talking to herself. "We have every right to just like him die for the crimes he's committed."

"You're right," she heard a quiet voice respond. "You do have every right to let me die."

Shizune quickly turned her head toward the voice, finding her patient with his eyes staring intelligently at her. As she looked, he gave her a weak smile.

"You have every right to feel that way." He repeated.

She chose to ignore him, and continued preparing him to be healed. "You know, I used to be like you too."

"You're NOTHING like me!" she retorted angrily, unable to keep silent.

He didn't raise his voice. "I used to love healing. It was the passion that drove me to try harder because I couldn't stand to see anyone in pain. It was unbearable, and I always wanted to ease their suffering, in any way I could."

She simply looked at him. "There was once this little girl…I couldn't do anything to save her, and it tore me apart."

He looked at her beseechingly. "Why would anyone allow such a thing? She was only five."

Kabuto closed his eyes tiredly. "I couldn't forgive myself."

Shizune moved to turn around, uncomfortable in his presence.

Then the final soft words fell upon her ears. "She was like a little sister to me."

Her gaze softened as she gazed at him.

He didn't look evil.

He didn't look wicked.

He simply looked tired.

And her heart went out to the man, the one that desperately tried, but couldn't save the little girl he loved—couldn't save himself.

Kabuto opened his eyes to see her looking at him with acceptance, not hate like she should have been.

And she smiled back at him.

Just maybe she was the one that would finally heal him.

_R&R._


	15. Chapter 15: Paperclips

_____**Like fluff? Visit my profile for complete contest rules and how to participate. Winner gets to own me as a slave... *winks* ...or gets a story written by me. It'll make me happy if you enter... :D.**_

_R&R._

**Paperclips**

Neji opened his eyes to a new day, enjoying the sunlight that warmed him down to his very core. After throwing on some clothes, he padded down to the kitchen to grab something to eat. "Hmmm,"

Stuffing half the granola bar in his mouth, he headed to the courtyard to start his training. His eyes widened in surprise as he opened the sliding door to step out into the sunlight. _Hinata's already out here?_

The Hyuuga heiress was busy perfecting one of her recent techniques, developed especially for her individual prowess. It was the first time he'd seen her do it, and the effect was mesmerizing. She seemed to glow with a vitality that she lacked when they last fought.

To his chagrin, the dark-haired girl suddenly collapsed on the ground in a heap, sobbing fiercely. "Hinata!"

He ran over to her, wide-eyed, praying that she wasn't seriously hurt. "Are you okay?"

Neji cradled the girl in his arms. Tears streaked down her pretty face, making her eyes red, and he was at a loss of what to do.

"Are you okay?" he repeated urgently.

"I-I'm fine," she hiccupped, then gave him a sad smile. "I-I'm fine, r-really."

"Well, you don't look okay," he said bluntly.

"N-no, it's just that I can't perfect this technique and I've been trying for weeks now," she said, clearly frustrated.

Her voice lapsed into a hopeless tone. "I-I'm beginning to think that I won't be able to wield it no matter how hard I try…I'm s-such a useless k-kunoichi,"

"No you aren't," he said firmly and kissed the surprised girl on the lips. "You're amazing."

Her eyes stared up at him, round with innocence.

"N-neji?" she blushed with embarrassment, and he could feel the heat rising to his own cheeks.

"Y-you're a wonderful k-kunoichi," he stumbled on. "You remind me of…of,"

She looked at him as he struggled to find the words. "…of paperclips!"

_What did I just say?_

Now a confused expression crossed her face. "Of paperclips?" she questioned dubiously.

"U-uh, yes, because…" he stumbled. "You're the one that holds everything together, the glue of the group, a-and if you weren't there, we would all fall apart. Whenever you're on a mission, you know exactly what to do when everyone else is going off in different directions."

He took a deep breath, happy to find that he was making somewhat sense. "You pull everyone together and help them by highlighting everyone's strengths."

She looked at him in amusement now, all trace of tears gone. "You need to find a better comparision. At this rate, you'll never find a girl."

Neji didn't respond, only swooping down to kiss her on the lips again…to stop her laughter.

_R&R._


	16. Chapter 16: Snow

_Author's note: So it looks like I'm kinda back. Requests for pairings will have to be redone; sorry about that. But I'm going to try to keep up with this from now one because it's short enough to do. And I'm sorry this one is a bit corny. Lol._

_R&R._

**Snow**

"What the hell am I even doing out here?" Sasuke grumbled. "I hate winter, and I hate the snow. It's wet, cold, and annoying. I'd rather be inside where it's nice and warm."

His girlfriend of two years rolled her eyes at him. "You're outside because it's the first snow of the year and because I asked you to. Besides, it's not like you're going to die out here, unless you plan on dying from an overdose of beauty."

"Yah, well I might…" he muttered.

"What did you say?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

But she was distracted by the numerous snowflakes that were drifting lazily to the ground. They blanketed the world with white, and it truly looked like something out of a fairy tale, something that couldn't possibly be real.

Sasuke watched as she spun around in a circle, laughing at the wonder of it. He couldn't help the smile that struggled to slide across his face, but quickly turned it into his typical cynical scowl when she turned around to look at him.

"Isn't it wonderful?" she asked, her eyes lit up.

A noncommittal shrug and she plopped herself down in the snow. She fell backwards gracefully and he watched intently as she stared up at the sky in the shape of an X. "Well, time to make a snow angel." she said brightly.

She turned her head towards him as she started to move her arms and legs in a pinwheel motion. "And after that, you can help me make a snowman."

"Aren't you going to make your very own snow angel?" she asked, pouting up at him, still managing to look adorable in spite of the cold that bit at her cheeks and nose.

Sasuke shrugged again and wrapped himself up tighter in his cocoon of warmth. "No, trying to make a snow angel will only cause my butt to freeze and fall off. You're going to be damn cold and wet after you get your angel."

"Stop being so…..ugh," she stuck her tongue out at him. "Can't you try to be cheerful for once?"

A couple minutes later, she stood up and hopped a couple feet away from her finished snow angel. "There," she said proudly. "Now I have a snow angel, and you don't. I bet you wished you made one now."

The passing wind made her shiver.

Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes, and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her for warmth. "See? I told you that you'd get cold."

Sakura pouted. "But I wanted to make an angel."

He kissed the top of her head. "I already have an angel right here."

_R&R._


	17. Chapter 17: Laziness

_R&R._

**Laziness**

"I can't believe you're sitting around here doing nothing."

He bit back his retort, content to just continue admiring the blonde-haired beauty whirling around his bedroom in a tornado of indignant ramblings. "There are things you should be doing, _important_ things, but instead you're here falling asleep."

She picked up his clothes off the floor and wrinkled her nose with disgust. "What, do you not remember how to wash your clothes either?"

The girl sighed as he ran his eyes up and down her body. Damn woman kept bending over. It was driving him crazy.

"I'm an _ambassador_, and they sent me to go find _you_. I can't even look at your place without attempting to at least clean it up. You're living in a _pigsty_. That great mind of yours is absolutely no use if you can't even look after yourself properly. You need a goddamn wife, or at least a housekeeper."

Shikamaru finally bothered himself to speak. "Tch, too troublesome."

Temari turned around and fully glared at him with her hands on her hips. "The wife or the housekeeper?"

Her eyes threatened him to answer.

He chose to remain silent.

She turned back around, organizing all his scrolls.

Well-played.

He stared at her ass.

The blonde woman whipped around again with fire in her eyes. "Furthermore, do you know how much time I'm wasting over here? Trying to get your butt down to the Hokage's office? I'm _supposed_ to be outta Konoha by now and on my way to attaining a peace treaty. And _you…_"

She enunciated her point with a finger jab.

"You lazy, arrogant, good-for-nothing, retarded…"

Shikamaru got up and strode up to her, close enough that she was almost spitting the words into his face.

Her words gave way to mumblings as he pressed his lips against hers.

The kiss lasted for seconds, no, minutes.

He grinned at her dazed expression. "Well, my laziness is useful, I would say. It got you to come here, didn't it?"

All he received was a slap.

He knew she loved him.

_R&R._


End file.
